Perfect Imperfection
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: How does one confess to a crush whose socially awkward without things becoming awkward? It is very hard, as Allura finds out.


_Disclaimer – I don't own Voltron: The Legendary Defender. This was written for the From the Heart contest over on Wattpad where one was to write a letter between two fandom characters with a word limit of 10,000 words, and we were supposed to incorporate a line of song lyrics somehow. Instead of incorporating the lyric as is, I used said lyric to inspire the words characters said and wrote so I could also post it here. I'm also working with the idea of Keith being dyslexic. Allura's also the one instigating much of the relationship progression._

 **Perfect Imperfection**

"I'm sorry. I can't reciprocate your feelings."

Allura stared at the red paladin, watching his face droop, and tilt to the side. The fact he couldn't look her in the eye right now said a lot, as he avoided eye contact when something was bothering him. The Altean princess brushed a lock of her long white hair behind her pointed ear, her chest hurting due to the rejection. "Can I ask why?"

"Because you deserve better."

Allura took a deep breath, remembering the fact the red paladin had major insecurities regarding himself, even though one would think the top pilot in his year wouldn't have any kind of insecurity complex. No, Keith wasn't the one to expect an insecurity complex from, but Lance was. "Let me ask a different question then. Do you have feelings for me?"

Keith looked up, speaking completely from the heart. "I'm not a replacement for Shiro, Allura."

The Altean princess took another deep breath, brushing back the lock of white hair again. Said hair stood out against her dark skin, and she closed her bright blue eyes. Her tone of voice quickly changed as well, becoming harsh, almost lecturing, but in reality simply showing irritation at the stupidity in front of her. "What?"

"You heard me. I'm not going to repeat myself."

"Then let me repeat my previous question. Do you have feelings for me?"

"I promise, I'll get him back for you."

Allura took a third deep breath, watching the red paladin turn to leave. "Okay. Maybe confessing to him right after Shiro disappeared on us _wasn't_ such a good idea."

 **~V~**

Allura slipped into her room, letting out a deep sigh. "Why? Why did he have to be like that?"

The space mice sat in front of her as she brushed her long white hair. Sometimes, with as much time it took to care for the white hair, she wondered if she would be better off with the shorter hair. Coran would, however, likely flip at such an idea, and so she brushed it aside. One of the space mice scurried onto her finger, and her eyes widened. "Really? You think I should do something so that Keith understands I don't care about Shiro."

The space mouse nodded their head, their eyes twinkling with excitement.

Allura held up her finger. "I should write him a letter, letting him know how much better he is than Shiro." Her crystal blue eyes suddenly fell, as did her mouth into a frown. "Wait…" A deep sigh escaped her lips, and she buried her face into her hands. "Compared to Shiro, he's imperfect."

The mice began to chatter, lecturing her through the psychic bond they shared.

"I know!" The female pulled away from her hands. "To me, Keith is perfect despite all of those flaws! How…"

Again, the mice began to chatter.

"Oh. Tell him that I love all of his imperfections. I don't know how well he'll take that, but I guess I could. Actually, I'm really worried he'll take it badly. Are you sure?"

Yes, the space mice were sure. Allura took a deep breath and started to write her letter.

 **~V~**

 _Dear Keith,_

 _I'm not sure how to explain this to you, but I'm not interested in Shiro. I'm not sure if you're going to believe me. Even if Shiro was here, I'd still pursue you. Actually, I probably wouldn't out of fear that he'd give me some kind of lecture about how I shouldn't be pursuing romantic interests with the crew. He's a stickler for the rules. And no, that's not why I wouldn't pursue him. The person I want is you._

 _It bothers me though that you compare yourself to him. I get the fact Shiro's the epitome of perfection. He's a grown adult after all, so of course, he's going to have large muscles and a fine body. He's going to have the maturity of an adult as well, and of course, he's quite handsome. I know he's the type a lot of girls would go for, what with how his scars don't mar that perfect face of his._

 _Perfection isn't though, what I am looking for. I'm not an adult either, and I'm still learning to be one. I can't be an equal with someone who's not equal with me. Plus, I love all of your imperfections. I know you may not believe me, but I love you for who you are. So, let me elaborate on this._

 _Do you remember how I told Lance that I found his ears to be ugly? Well, I found them to be ugly because they weren't pointed like mine. Your ears, no, they aren't pointed like mine, but the very tips are slightly pointed. They're not round like Lance's. Shiro's also are a bit pointed, but not like yours. I don't know how you feel about the tips of your ears, but I love them. And no, the slight point to your ears isn't noticeable, but I noticed. They're adorable. I know that telling a male something about them isn't adorable, but it is still something I love about you._

 _Also, I know that Shiro is – I'm not sure how to put this. His muscles are thick, his arms strong, so they look like they can hold onto whatever's in his grasp. I'm not really looking for that either. I mean, I can throw him into a shuttlecraft from across the room. While the curve of his muscles may be appealing to most, I prefer the curve of your forearms and shoulders, as well as your back. Your body is small, but it is slim, limber and appealing._

 _Personality wise, as I said, you lack the maturity Shiro has, but I'm liking the fact you and I can grow and mature together. There's also something about you, personally, that I can't place my finger on, or at least easily put into words. While you're reckless at times and temperamental, I like the other side of you. It's soft, personable, warm, noble, kind. When you hone your instincts rather than just giving into them, trust them, you're an amazing person. It's again, hard to explain._

 _Most of all, though, you're my equal. You're the one who balances me out, not Shiro. You're the one I am looking to be my mate, and nobody else. You're the one I want to be with, forever and ever. You alone._

 _With love,  
Allura_

 **~V~**

Keith's head rested on the table in the dining room, letting out a sigh of frustration. He didn't hear the other young paladins step into the room, as he let out a sound of frustration. Pidge piped up, slinking over to the table with amusement, pushing her eyeglasses up. "What's the matter? You're the one who told us that there's no use to moping over Shiro being gone because we're going to find him."

"Allura confessed to me." The red paladin pulled his arm up under his head.

The other three remained silent for a few minutes. Suddenly, Lance's hands slammed down onto the table. "Are you kidding me?"

The smaller of the male teens startled, raising his head up to look at the blue paladin. "No, I'm not."

"Dude!" Lance took a deep breath, his facial features twisting up in frustration. "I'd _love_ for Allura to confess to me! Are you an idiot?"

Keith folded his arms in front of him, leaning into the table as he did so. "Yeah, in case you haven't noticed, she's just using me as a replacement for Shiro."

"Say what!" Hunk sat down in one of the chairs next to where Lance stood.

Pidge pushed up her glasses, her mouth twisting up in mirth. "Please tell me you didn't tell that to Allura?"

"I did."

"You what!" The blue paladin's voice strained even more. "Are you crazy?"

"Yeah, even Lance's got to admit Allura likes you." Hunk's mouth twisted up in amusement.

"Why? I'm not that amazing."

A squeak escaped Lance's throat, then a gurgling sound as if he were dying. "You…"

"What." Keith continued to sit where he was, his arms folded in front of him. His eyes blinked a couple of times.

"You're saying you're a loser?"

"Yes."

"What does that say about me who really is a loser!"

Keith's eyes blinked again, his head tilting to the side. Pidge's sudden burst of laughter knocked her small body to the ground, while Hunk placed a large hand over his mouth to try and hide his laughter. "Why do you keep comparing yourself to me?"

"Because!" Lance choked, trying to hold back his anger. "Compared to me, you're amazing."

"No, you're the one whose amazing, Lance." The red paladin couldn't figure out why Pidge and Hunk were still on the ground laughing.

"Seriously!" The blue paladin's hands swung out wide. "Are you really telling me the fact you're an ace pilot, the top of our class."

"You dropped out due to a delinquency issue."

"Who all the girls like despite your super rude attitude! Why I don't know."

"Exactly." Keith took a deep breath, wondering why Lance couldn't get it.

"Wait, what?"

"As I said, you're the one who's amazing." The blue paladin looked at him as if he were lying. Keith took a sigh, knowing he would need to elaborate. "I think the fact you're… what's the word I'm looking for? Approachable?"

Lance opened his mouth, a finger darting up to argue, thinking about what Keith said carefully. "Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment. Wait, coming from you, that's definitely a compliment." The blue paladin slammed his hands down again, becoming stern with the red paladin. "That doesn't change the fact you're super amazing."

"Yeah, but Shiro's…"

Hunk took a deep breath. "Why do you compare yourself with Shiro?"

"All the adults do." Keith looked at the table. "Except Shiro."

"You're so!" The blue paladin held out his hands as if he wanted to strangle Keith. Lance took a deep breath, pointing at the red paladin. "Fine. You're going to write a letter to Allura."

"Why?"

"To let her know how you feel."

"But…"

"No buts! We're fixing this!"

 **~V~**

 _To Allura_

 _I really like you a lot. You deserve better._

 _From  
Keith_

 **~V~**

The red paladin was very proud of his letter, but Lance looked over his shoulder and brushed his hand across his face. "Really?"

"I think I did a good job."

"You…"

Hunk grabbed the letter from Keith, his mouth twisting in amusement. "Lance, when have you ever known Keith to say more than a few sentences?"

"Yeah, but this is a letter." Lance shook his head. "And it's awful."

Keith froze, taking a deep breath. "Wait…"

The door to the dining room opened, and Allura stepped in, a smile on her face. "Keith! I've been looking for you."

Pidge yanked Keith's letter from his hands, before running over to Allura. "And he has something for you."

The red paladin's mouth dropped. "Wait…"

The Altean princess took his letter, the one Lance said was awful, from Pidge. Her eyebrows shot up, and the corners of her mouth twisted up in amusement. Putting it aside, she handed him her own letter. "This is for you."

Keith took the letter from Allura and started to read, only for his eyes to go cross-eyed. His head darted over to Pidge, before holding the letter out to her. "Could you read this for me?"

"Wait…" The color drained slightly from Allura's face, her skin becoming an ashy gray color.

Pidge pushed up her eyeglasses, glancing over the letter. "Keith, are you sure? This is rather… personal."

"It's not as if I could read it myself. Not easily at least." A silence fell over the room, and Keith looked up. "What?"

"You can't read?" Hunk frowned.

"I can. Not well, though." Keith poked Pidge in the shoulder. "Please?"

"I'm not sure…" Allura took a deep breath.

A smirk appeared on the green paladin's face and a twinkle in her amber colored eyes as she started reading the letter. Keith's eyes blinked, and his cheeks started to heat up.

 **~V~**

The letter she received from Keith was simple, but most certainly Keith. What mattered was the fact he tried, in his own way, to convey how he felt. Her mouth twisted up in amusement, thinking of how he'd admitted to her that he liked her. The fact he felt inadequate though saddened her, but was also him. It was as Hunk once told her, the human phrase " _wearing one's feelings on one's sleeve_ ". Keith personified this statement well. He was sweet and tried to connect with her.

What she wasn't expecting was for Keith to hand her letter to Pidge to be read. Unabashedly he admitted to his struggles in reading as Lance's jaw dropped at this acknowledgment. Pidge began to read the letter, and she watched as Keith's eyes blinked, a vivid blush appearing on his face as Pidge read the letter. The fact Hunk and Lance were soon rolling on the floor laughing did not help matters either. Pidge was also struggling to hold her laughter as she read.

Keith's discomfort became more and more evident as Pidge continued, and when she was done, he choked out one word. "Mate?"

"That…" His face turned a sickly green as he stood up, moving quickly from the room as Hunk and Lance continued to laugh. Allura found herself bristling. "What's his problem? I was completely honest with him?"

"You used the word mate." Pidge's lips pushed together.

"As in soul mate, someone I look forward to being my potential future husband, and raising a family with." The Altean princess crossed her arms.

Lance popped up beside her. "Well, I'd _love_ to be your mate princess?"

A laugh surfaced despite his attempt to flirt with her, and his hands covered his mouth as Hunk began to bang the table. Allura was far from amused. "How can you three be so immature about this?"

"We're…" Lance continued to hide his laughter. "… teenage males! How can be expected to handle this situation maturely! His reaction was priceless!"

The princess looked at Pidge, her arms crossed and one of her eyebrows shooting up. "And what about you?"

The green paladin fell to the ground, before pulling herself up, her attempt to stop laughing failing miserably. "I'm a tomboy! And I thought you knew that…"

"Knew what?" Allura took a deep breath.

"Adorable! You called him adorable!" Lance fell over.

Hunk attempted to bite back his laughter. "Oh, I wouldn't have minded. But Keith? Oh man. He may be adorable, but he certainly doesn't like to be reminded of it."

The Altean princess felt her eye twitched. "Humans." She crossed her arms. "Well, I'll figure out this eventually."


End file.
